nytempsperdu, you'd love the discussions we had at The Guardian UK during the French elections. My friend from Nederlands who holidays in France would stop by occasionally but English people were not particularly his cup of tea, so he kept it short, just to check in and see if anything interesting was developing,would leave to attend to business, and come back after a week or so just to keep tabs.

We were both reading The Making of Revolutionary Paris, as it so happened, so quite soon a young American wanted to know about Bastille Day and the Bastille but he was, he said,"definitely against revolutions of any sort," being American. I guess current Republicanism had really straightened him out, he was quite nice and polite for a young person but there was just no excuse for a revolution. My European friend figuratively looked at him and left the figurative room again --back to the office at Ng. But neither one of us could put into words that could convince this young American that there are valid reasons people like the French have "revolutions...".

In fact as soon as the election was complete, they had one. A "demonstration" in any case, fiery, wild, and they almost always hold it at the old "hot spot".

With only 15 percent of the Vote ABC is already projecting Hillary Clinton as the winner in Calif.That is really fast.Thought it would have been a lot closer.McCain wins Calif also.

The vote gets tighter as the evening goes along out there on the West Coast, but I imagine Hill will hang on. Fascinating to me is how volatile the polls were this past week and how 6% of Californians still ended up voting for Edwards.

Exactly, bosox. I switched to absentee ballot several years ago after my polling place was changed and I walked ever so long in a cold rain trying to find the new one. I work near City Hall, though, so usually end up not mailing the ballot but turning it in. Those who vote/mail early get shafted in the primary--doesn't seem right, somehow, but then during each presidential election, there is a hoohah about the whole electoral college system.

I heard on NPR yesterday some folks in various Euro countries urging Americans there to go vote there--they mostly wanted them to vote for Obama--it's a question how many thought the Americans in their midst would be voting for President rather than in a primary to choose presidential candidates, but their enthusiasm sounded genuine.

I just remember that a lot of ink was spilt in recent election cycles about the lack of electoral success by serving senators (Kerry, Dole, Mondale, McGovern ...), and now it looks like a lock that the choice will be between serving senators ... what if nobody wins? -- yeah, I know, the current admin might be construed as the answer to that question

In last night's reading from A Cross of Iron, I came across a mention of a scientist named Oppenheimer. Is that the man who you are going to read about? He was, if I remember correctly although he was a bare sentence mention, one of the group of scientists who advocated for civilian control over scientific research in atomic power rather than have it sequestered under the military so that any applications of atomic enegy other than military, would not be allowed.

This is a very good analysis of the social-moral teachings of this humanitarian movement that so greatly influenced Oppenheimer. Some of those elements will be in evidence during the reading of Prometheus.

Please note the photo of the EC church home in Brooklyn's Park Slope --- I passed by that building many times in my younger years but (sorry to say) never attended any of their services.